WP8: 100% Increase in App Downloads, 140% More Developer Revenue

This Friday Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) published some interesting statistics regarding Windows Phone, aside from expanding the payout market to six additional countries. In a post of the Windows Phone Developer Blog the company claims that the Windows Phone 8 has seen an over 100% increase in app downloads and almost 140% increase in paid app revenue.

This data follows the information from the Kantar Worldpanel report at the very end of the April. Windows Phone is finally getting some positive results in the United States, not only globally, and it is certainly reflecting on the app downloads and developer revenue. Ending March 31, Microsoft?s mobile platform now accounts for 5.6% of all smartphone sales. Todd Brix relates to that report by saying:

?The industry continues to recognize Windows Phone steady growth. According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Windows Phone has already increased its share of all smartphone sales by nearly 2% compared to last year and is attracting first-time smartphone buyers. With over half of the US market (and much of the world) still owning a feature phone, it?s likely many will upgrade over the coming year, which ultimately will contribute to growth for Windows Phone.?

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) continues to dominate the Windows Phone sales to an extent that can result in other OEMs simply dropping the platform. While there are some rumored HTC models still in the pipeline, more and more reports note that Samsung could drop the Windows Phone support entirely for the next generation of devices and dedicate their resources to the Tizen platform. In the recent AdDuplex report, Nokia holds over 80% of all WP devices, while HTC and Samsung have 14% and 5%, respectively.

Besides that, Microsoft notes that starting this week, they will enable developer payout to markets of Afghanistan, Iraq, Montenegro, Serbia, Timor-Leste and Ukraine. They have also added more than a dozen new mobile operator billing partners, and they claim that the total number of supported partners (25 in 19 markets) is now higher than what Google Play has.